The goal of this project is to increase access to food resources for children living in poverty by increasing access to in-school, summer, and afterschool meal programs. This will require growing volunteer recruitment and training programs, conducting marketing and outreach about meal programs and developing a system to improve the effectiveness of the meal programs. This VISTA project will move low income children out of poverty by increasing access to food when school is not in session resulting in increased success in learning year around and healthier futures.
The goal of the project is to increase access to healthy foods for low income youth by developing a teaching garden that will generate interest in the production and use of nutritious foods. This will require engaging youth in the development and management of a teaching garden, and recruiting youth struggling with food security to manage, market and ultimately, directly benefit from their garden produce. This project will help alleviate poverty by providing at risk youth opportunities to increase food security by learning gardening techniques unique to Montana weather, nutrition, and how to cook healthy meals using fresh produce
This project will increase access to healthcare by providing education to, and empowering low income seniors on fraud while also providing targeted opioid abuse and prevention programs. This will require reviewing the first year VISTA project; assessing the community needs of 6 counties; developing a strategic plan to address Medicare fraud; partnering with opioid programs to develop opioid programming; developing public education materials; and evaluating the effectiveness of the program. This VISTA project will move seniors and veterans out of poverty by providing education to stop Medicare waste, fraud and abuse, reducing the amount of expenses seniors are forced to pay allowing it to be easier to pay for other living expenses.
This project will increase access to preventative healthcare programs for low-income, rural, and tribal communities by developing and distributing a universal resource fair toolkit. This will require developing partnerships to provide content for the toolkit; formalizing a mini-grant process; seeking board approval for the allocation of funding; and researching funding resources, applying for grants, and seeking financial partnerships. This project will alleviate poverty by allowing communities the ability to bring resource fairs to their area, giving low-income individuals living in rural areas access to supports they may not have known about, or were unable to access due to transportation challenges.
The goal of this project is to increase food access for low-income students in the Helena School District by developing and expanding school breakfast, afterschool, and summer meal programs. This will require developing and administering assessments to staff and students; developing and implementing a strategic plan for alternative breakfast models; developing and implementing a strategic plan for afterschool meal programs; developing a strategic plan for summer meals programs; and developing a volunteer network to organize and sustain the project. The project will move low-income students out of poverty by increasing access to food resources both during and after school hours.
The goal of this project is to increase access to healthcare to students by engaging the faith-based community in substance abuse prevention efforts and to expand access to support services to youth. This will require identifying and developing partnerships with faith-based communities and other community partners; developing a volunteer recruitment strategy; developing various community resources; education community partners on substance abuse prevention; and developing a base of volunteer trainers who will continue the referral system after the member is gone. This project will help alleviate poverty by increasing access to substance prevention supports; children who are drug and alcohol free increase their chance of being successful in school and in life.
The goal of the project is to increase access to prevenatative healthcare to reduce teen preganancy, teen dating violence and sexual violence. This will require recruiting new contractors to provide services; developing an informative mini-grant process; recruiting at least 10 specialists to apply for mini-grant funds; coordinating monthly calls, providing technical assistance and training to mini-grant sites; monitoring the success of the program and applying for funding opportunities to ensure sustainability of the project. This project will move at-risk youth out of poverty by increasing access to healthcare services and prevention resources across the state.
This project will increase access to healthcare services for low income and at-risk individuals by providing trainings and coordinating efforts across Montana for the prevention and effective response to human trafficking and sexual assault. This will require the VISTA member to develop an outreach program; provide training on human trafficking and sexual assault; share best practices to task forces across the state; develop and implement a resource database. This VISTA project will move low income inidviduals, victims, and those at risk of human trafficking and sexual assault out of poverty by increasing access to healthcare services and prevention resources across the state.
The goal of this project to provide services to K-12 students living in poverty to improve academic engagement by developing and implementing afterschool, summer, and in-school experiential educational programming utilizing properties located in low income areas of the Helena Valley. This will include assessing the current environmental educational opportunities and develop partnerships to establish age-apprppriate environmental education curriculums. This VISTA project will move low income and at-risk youth out of poverty by facilitating deeper and increased amounts of outdoor educational experiences resulting in higher success rates in school.
The goal of this project is to improve academic engagement for students living in poverty by identifying barriers facing low-income students and expanding afterschool participation across the state. This will require researching and contacting current afterschool programs; developing a database of afterschool programs, including opioid abuse programs; determining what barriers low-income students face in participating in afterschool programs; developing a communication plan and tools; and developing new partnerships with local and state programs. This project will help alleviate poverty by closing the achievement gap for students living in poverty by increasing access to afterschool programming in low-income communities.
The goal of this project is to increase access to healthcare for low-income seniors by developing and disseminating educational materials and training modules to healthcare professionals and community members working on elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. This will require facilitating community assessments; developing partnerships with community organizations; developing educational pieces on decision-making, guardianship, and safe handling of opioids; developing a training program; and implementing the program in four communities in Montana. This project will alleviate poverty by preventing elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, keeping more seniors financially secure.